


Safe & Sound

by FrozenHearts



Category: Aquaman (2018), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Attempt at Humor, Bad Puns, Banter, Canon Compliant, Character Study, F/M, Family, First Meetings, Friendship, Gen, Hallucinations, Happy Ending, Howard Stark's Bad Parenting, Introspection, Iron Man 1, Kinda cheesy towards the end, Male-Female Friendship, Mentioned Orm Curry, Mentioned Queen Atlanna, Nick Fury is here for like two seconds, Post-Avengers (2012), Pre-Aquaman (2018), Pre-Avengers (2012), Rad Puns, Rescue, Superheroes, Survival, This got away from me, i haven't written anything this long since that one spider-man fanfic i wrote last year, mentioned Howard Stark - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2018-10-07
Packaged: 2019-07-27 07:38:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16214492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrozenHearts/pseuds/FrozenHearts
Summary: While in the desert, Tony collapses.He most definitely is hallucinating the beautiful woman who is definitely not Pepper.





	Safe & Sound

**Author's Note:**

> I saw the new Aquaman trailer today and I love Mera with all my heart
> 
> Also it has been a while since I watched Iron Man. And Won-Chu is the character who kidnapped Tony in the comics so I am using him briefly as I don't remember much of the Iron Man mythos
> 
> I was listening to Soul Of A Man by Steven Stern while writing so I highly recommend listening to the song while reading this!

Everything hurt.

Not the type of hurt that would go away with pain killers and a nap or a nice heating pad. No, this was the type of hurt that seared his skin, made his bones ache until he couldn't move. This pain was a scratchy throat and a rumbling stomach as he worked, his muscles quivering as he forced his fingers to stay tight around the hammer. His pain grew into electrical burns, sweat stinging his eyes as he went days without sleep in the hot sun, despite the brief respite of the cave he was held in. Daily, his pain increased to white spots behind his eyelids, throbbing temples and a too-fast beating heart.

Tony Stark hurt, as he sat inside that cave and made... whatever it was this mad-man wanted him to make. Whatever his father had emptily promised way back when and didn't fulfill upon his death.

Tony Stark hurt. And his dad was dead. He was probably going to die.

His chest felt funny. He was pretty sure something was there that wasn't supposed to be. But he ignored it; he was paying for his father's crimes and he may as well grin and bear it.

It wouldn't do to die in the middle of the desert.

\-----

These people.... they wanted him to build a suit. Of armor, a huge metal man in the scorching sun and they were going to use it to destroy the Stark company. Probably him, as well. Won-Chu didn't seem like the kind of person to be dealt with. He was an action man, his temper getting the better of him as he forced Tony to work, teasing him with water and taking it away.

Tony Stark felt weak by the fourth day. He wasn't entirely sure how long you were supposed to go without food or drink, but he was pretty sure he was way past that. He could probably drop dead and his captors wouldn't give a shit. No one would know where he was, no one would come get him. So he kept building and hurting and at night he found tears slipping as he tried hard not to cry for a father who didn't care and friends he didn't have.

\------

The day he escaped was something of a mess.

The arc reactor- a small bulb of blue light in the middle of his chest- was magnetized to the suit. Magnetized to him, he made the suit, he is the suit he owns the suit and these assholes couldn't even realize it was what he was doing, he was sly enough to trick these idiots into basically helping him escape and as he walked the desert he thought of Pepper and Happy and Rhodey and for a minute, Tony didn't hurt too much.

Inside the suit, he was boiling. He forgot that titanium expanded in heat, and while it was roomy inside, getting around was difficult. When he closed his eyes, he saw nothing but red, and sand made the joints creak, but Tony didn't care.

He was free. He was alive.

His father probably couldn't fathom it, watching from wherever he went after dying.

\------

On the fifth day wandering the desert, Tony Stark collapses.

His skin is blistering under the metal, he can feel his nails cracking as the gloves chafed his knuckles. The wound probably went down to the bone, but he didn't care. The sand was hard as he fell, jarring his body inside the suit, his ears now ringing. Blinking, he peered through the slits and all he saw was gold irritating his eyes. His knees lock and his feet tingle and everything hurts but Tony does nothing to get up.

His father, in heaven or hell or wherever he is, was most likely laughing at his foolishness right now.

Tony closed his eyes, ignoring the pain that grew in the back of his head.

\-------

When he came to, Tony found he was not wearing the armor. The wind was brittle on his face, making any various cuts and scrapes feel worse as sand nestled in deep. His chest ached and his legs felt like jelly, his chest burning with the fury of a thousand fires as he lay in the desert sun. The bones in his neck cried in protest as Tony tried to look at himself, surprised to see the suit in piece around him, glinting furiously. The arc reactor was still lodged in his chest, the pulse of the magnets moving in time with his heartbeat.

"Don't move," a voice said, and Tony glanced over to see a red-haired woman sitting beside him, casually tearing apart the metal on his legs.

Tony squinted at her, at this woman who was ripping through bare fucking metal with bare fucking hands in the middle of a goddamn desert because that was just his life now. Getting kidnapped by a mad-man, forced to build a suit and new heart from a car battery and now he's with this stranger who's hair is red and can apparently rip through pure titanium without worrying about tetanus.

Wait. Red hair.

"Pepper...?" Tony tried, surprised at his own voice. His throat hurt, and he sounded as if he smoked five packs a day. Why was Pepper here? Did she track him somehow? Follow him? He shook his head as he stared at her- while the hair was similar, the more he looked the quicker he realized the color was dark, too dark to be Pepper's hair. Where Pepper was more strawberry-blonde, this woman's hair looked almost orange, a deep russet with waves of carrot tones. Another was that it was slightly longer, soft curls almost reaching her waist and flowing freely in the harsh breeze. Pepper only ever wore her hair down at one of his parties, and even then it wasn't too long.

The metal groaned and squealed as the woman pulled it apart, but Tony didn't bother looking away.

"I'm sorry but am I hallucinating?" Tony dared to ask.

The woman huffed, shoulders sagging as she threw away a leg guard. At least, Tony thought it was a leg guard. With all the metal strewn about, he wasn't entirely sure.

"I don't know who Pepper is, but I can assure you, I'm not her," the woman answered, "And I am very real."

Okay. So he wasn't going crazy. That still didn't tell him anything and Tony still hurt. Even without the metal suit, Tony could feel his body burning, and he wanted so badly to close his eyes and sleep- but he couldn't. It would be too easy, too quick. Ultimately, it would be unfair, to his three friends and his own being and hell, even to this woman trying to save him-

"I can see you thinking too hard," the woman cut through his thoughts, "Kind of like Arthur."

Tony wanted to laugh as the woman tore of another piece of the suit, "Arthur?"

"A friend."

Tony guffawed, "A friend? That's it?"

The woman glared at him, "I could leave you here, you know."

He shut his mouth. He couldn't stay here. In a sense, he could- no expectations to worry about, no deadlines to meet, no annoying clients or interns. It sounded nice to be alone.... until he remembered that he was alone for the past few weeks, if not months. Time was a bit blurry; his head hurt.

"Are you part of a rescue team?" Tony tried.

A grunt, "No."

"Fire Department?"

Heavy breathing- Tony looked again to see the woman was struggling with the kneecap of the suit on his left leg. Her fingers looked slick with blood, unable to get a good grip.

"No. And I am not with any of your human governments either," she said, finally ripping away the piece with a cry, "I am Mera of Xebel and I am here to collect the rightful king of Atlantis."

Okay, now Tony knew he was hallucinating. He opened his mouth to speak only to cough, his lungs burning and throat getting torn. Above him, he could feel Mera's hands skimming his face and neck, the pillow-soft brush of her heair on his face and normally in any situation he'd be all for getting downand dirty but now was not the time-

"Stop being disgusting," Mera quipped, "You need water."

"Yeah, no shit-" he managed between coughs. He felt Mera's hands resting flat on his face now, feeling the blood on her fingers stick to his jaw and his shoulders trembled with effort. But he forced himself to open his eyes, and look at her, the sun radiating behind her hair like an angel's halo. His chest heaved as he caught his breath and then it happened.

Her eyes glowed. An ethereal cerulean, and Tony blinked at her, but then the effect was gone as quickly as it had come.

"Sit up," she instructed, removing her hands from his face, "I removed most of the metal from your outfit, and I need you to work with me."

It took a while to even get up to rest on his elbows. His joints protested, his bones creaked and his tendons dragged themselves as if he was dragging himself out of bed. Every fiber of his being begged to rest but he made it. His lungs felt ready to give out and it was still too hot but Mera caught his shoulder with one hand, her other weaving around what looked like some sort of magic, clear and opaque and new.

"What is that?" Tony asked.

"Water," Mera said matter of factly, adding with a quick "Or, well... your sweat, but still."

Wait, wait, wait- you... how did you get my sweat?" Tony balked, "Are you some sort of creepy fan? Like-"

Mera frowned, and her glare told Tony that she could up and leave him at any time, just dispel whatever she was doing and get up and walk away. There was miles and miles of desert around, she could probably walk forever and never see him again. She held out the orb of water to him insistently. Her fingers danced underneath, most likely how she was keeping it's shape.

"I know it sounds gross, but it's still water," Mera said, "Drink up."

So Tony did.

\------

"So, you're from the ocean?"

"Yes. Why?"

"And you're looking for the King of Atlantis?"

"Again, yes. And again, why?"

"Is the King of Atlantis perhaps this Arthur guy?"

".....I had not considered the notion."

\-------

After spending two days, even with Mera repurposing his sweat and tears and heck, even the dried blood from her very own fingers to make clean water for him to drink, Tony finally passed out.

His father was most definitely cackling like a banshee, wherever he was at the moment.

\-------

"....op! He's...!"

"....orce if I have to-"

"....me you idiot, he's...!"

Tony could hear the voices, but all he saw was black. The yelling... a woman and a man, he assumed, judging from the pitches, they were loud. Too loud- his head hurt again, a throbbing in his temples he could feel all the way down to his teeth. All he knew was that he wasn't in the metal suit anymore, Mera had gave him some gross body-water to drink and he wasn't lying in the sun anymore-

Oh. Now that he thought about it, he didn't feel coarse grains against his back or Mera's roughened hands against his face anymore. He felt cold, a flat sheet of something hard against his spine, an itchy cloth (a blanket? When had Mera gotten a blanket) laying over him. Cracking open one eye, he looked around, seeing the familiar surroundings of a rescue helicopter. Switches and lights and buckles were everywhere and then he could see Mera, standing proudly (despite her surprisingly short stature) glaring up at whoever she was yelling at.

The man was tall, with short hair and a green henley shirt. Cameo pants adorned his legs along with a pair of brown boots and Mera, for all her yelling was worth, did not look happy. Her shoulders were squared, her hands were wringing and Tony smirked as he watched the man take a step back- her eyes were glowing again, the same bright blue he'd seen in the desert as she tried to feed him his own sweat.

"Rhodey, why don't you back off the lady for a hot sec and help me sit up?" Tony announced, and the man whirled around with a worried expression on his face.

"You can't scare a man like that, Tony," Rhodey sighed, but helped him move anyway. Up close, Tony could see the lines of his face. His dark skin looked weathered, as if he had gained a hundred years since he last saw Tony. His eyes were tired, brimming with guilt and something else Tony couldn't quite name. Mera stood a few ways behind Rhodey, at first taking a step forward, but reconsidering; she crossed her arms, biting her lip as she watched the two.

Her eyes were still glowing blue.

"I missed you, Tony," Rhodey said, pulling him into a hug once Tony was sitting, "It sucked, not having you here."

Tony grinned, "Good to be back, Rhodey."

"And I told you not to call me that."

"Old habits," Tony said, pulling away, "but please, don't be mad at Mera-" Tony gestured to her, and she took the few steps forward, "- she's the one who kept me alive."

Immediately, Rhodey turned on her, making her jump back, "You were with him? In that cave, you were with him?"

Mera shook her head, and Tony could see she was trying to find the words, her eyes flashing blue as she stuttered. Rhodey was almost ferocious, demanding names, allegiances, anything to get information on the people who had him. After seeing the way Mera's hands were trembling, Tony grabbed Rhodey's arm, tugging with a curt "Rhodey stop! You're scaring her!"

"I need to know," Was Rhodey's only explanation, although he didn't bother trying to get out of Tony's grip. The whir of the helicopter blades signaled they were landing soon.

Puffing out her chest, Mera glared proudly at Rhodey, "I found him in the desert. In a metal suit and dying of thirst. So I got him out of that suit and gave him water. I don't know who he was with before but I was alone and found him alone."

Tony shared a glance with Mera. Her lips were pursed and she looked tired too. Her hand was bandaged, stained red from the cuts and for a second, Tony saw the blue glow in her eyes flicker. Rhodey was nodding, rubbing his chin as he considered what she said. Tony knew it was true, but he understood his friend's skepticism; here was a strange woman who just happened to be in the desert with Tony Stark and (unbeknownst to Rhodey) had some sort of magical and superhuman abilities while more likely than not living in the ocean.

Yeah, Rhodey had every right to be suspicious. But Tony knew she was innocent. Holding out a hand, Tony beckoned her closer, "Mera, sweetheart, Rhodey is fine, he's just worried. You can come over now. He won't bite you."

Mera's face screwed up at the nickname, but Tony ignored it in favor of taking her hand and squeezing it reassuringly, "if it weren't for you, I would be dead a thousand times over."

Mera stole a wary glance at Rhodey, "You're welcome."

"How did you keep him alive anyway?" Rhodey cut in, and Tony grinned as the magic in Mer's eyes died down, revealing a set of beautiful hazel eyes. Shifting her feet, MEra tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, giving him an incredulous look.

"I repurposed his sweat," she stated as if it were obvious, "it was the only water we had and he was dying."

Rhodey blinked, "I'm sorry?"

Mera raised an eyebrow at him, "I recycled his sweat to make clean water? With my magic?" She flashed her eyes at Rhodey and Tony chuckled as the man jumped, "Do you humans not have magic? Weird. Arthur does, but then again, he was weirded out too. Must come with him being half human."

"Tony, what did you bring back with you?" Rhodey leveled him with glare, "You go to the desert and bring back a magical fish lady?"

"Excuse me," Mera scoffed, "I'm not a 'fish lady' I'm an Xebelian-"

"She lives in the ocean," Tony supplied happily at Rhodey's panicked look.

"-and I came here to find Arthur, so once we get him safe, I'll be on my way," Mera finished, then added, "I must admit we spent a few days together in the desert and I still have yet to know your name."

"This is Tony," Rhodey answered, "And I'm going to have a very stern talking to him when we get home, I promise."

Mera cocked her head, "As far as I know, he's done nothing wrong."

Tony smiled, but he knew Rhodey was probably seething. Granted, he didn't do anything to grant a talking to, and wasn't a child. If he had to absolutely talk to someone, though, Pepper was a much better bet than anyone else. The woman seemed to exude a demanding aura, a no-nonsense attitude to match the walk and Tony is quite sure that if Rhodey doesn't kill him right here, right now, Pepper is sure to do so later.

"May I ask who Arthur is?" Rhodey turned to Mera, his anger dying down to an even tone. Tony could see the twitch in Rhodey's eye.

"The son of Queen Atlanna of Atlantis and Thomas Curry," Mera said bluntly, "I need to find him before his half-brother, King Orm, wages war on both our world and yours."

Oh. When Tony had mentioned it in the desert, he was joking. Of course, Mera didn't seem to be joking, if the dark look in her eye was anything to go by. He felt Rhodey squeeze his shoulder, licking his lips as he took a minute to process all of... this. Whatever the hell was just thrown at him.

Pepper was going to be pissed if she found out.

\------

Mera didn't cross his mind until a few years later.

He announced he was Iron Man to the world. He dealt with Whiplash, the Mandarin- really, people were getting very uncreative with their acts, because some of these villains didn't even bother trying. Months passed, turning into years and even if he got sudden flashbacks of red hair and glowing eyes, he'd chalk it away to nightmares because Mera? As far as the rest of the world knew, she didn't exist. She wasn't human and she lived in the ocean.

Even in a world of gods and monsters, Tony remembered that those underneath existed. Atlantis existed and while Rhodey and Pepper knew, the Avengers did not. Super soldier's and gamma radiation may have launched a controversial scientific opinion but in Thor's case, magic was unheard of. So was Mera.

So when he found himself flying a nuke past the Hudson, while dropping innocent people into the water, he was surprised to see the ocean glowing blue- not the normal blue it always was but that same ethereal blue in Mera's eyes from the desert all those years ago.

"Tony," Fury's voice barked in his ear, his comm staticky, "Get the people out of the water!"

Tony smirked, despite knowing Fury couldn't see, "Trust me, Eyepatch, they're in good hands."

Tony kept guiding the missile, the heat starting to hurt his hands. The blasters on his gloves were burning his fingers and for a second, Tony was in the desert again, bloody and burning and broken but suddenly someone was whooping, loud and excited and Tony wanted oh so badly to turn around and see who it was, to see if Mera was there again.

Suddenly Tony found himself in space.

Suddenly, Tony was falling.

\------

When he came to, Tony found himself being dragged to the surface.

For a minute, he considered struggling, his suit heavy as it filled with water. He couldn't hear JARVIS, and he felt something sparking and then a heavy hand obscured his vision, ripping the mask away before he could take a breath-

His lungs didn't fill with water like he thought they would.

"Mera's helping the civilians," the man explained, "I got you, brother. Don't worry."

Tony knew he probably should be worried. He just fell out of a space portal and into the ocean, and now he was being towed around by a complete stranger- a rugged, handsome one at that. The man was tanned, with tattoos and long flowing hair that looked almost too soft to be real. It flowed with the current, framing a sharp jaw and kindly stern eyes perfectly. His arms bulged as he hefted Tony and his suit in his grasp and Tony felt safe- knew he was safe.

This was Arthur, the rightful king of Atlantis.

On the shore, Tony let himself be unceremoniously dropped, his armor clanking and he turned to spit up a mouthful of water that had managed to get through the bubble Arthur had created. All around him, people looked at them curiously, a few looking as if they wanted to approach or take a picture. People were probably already filming this, awed at Tony Stark and his mysterious rescuer. Hands prodded at the Iron Man suit, a chuckle coming from the guy as he commented, "Mera was right when she said you liked weird suits. But then again, I wouldn't expect anything less from Iron Man."

"I know technically I'm probably supposed to bow and everything, but I can't bring myself to care," Tony replied, "You know Mera?"

The man- Arthur, Tony's brain supplied- downright cackled, a noise between a hoot and a bellow. Flipping his wet hair (seriously, this guy could be a model, the face of Gucci or Versace or something) Arthur rapped the armor with his knuckles, "Yeah I do. Found me at the bar, said something about a man of metal pointing her to me."

"Well," Tony gulped, "glad I could help. Mind helping me out of this?"

Before he could instruct him on how to properly remove the suit, however, Tony suddenly found burly hands ripping away at the metal, thankfully mindful of the arc reactor as he threw red and gold pieces this way and that. He winced at the screeches of titanium and alloy, the way it skittered across the pavement. He wouldn't be able to fix this suit up any time soon, but Arthur grinned proudly as he ripped away the last piece and swooped Tony into his arms.

"Not that this isn't nice, but I'm a taken man," Tony said.

"Mera said so," Arthur nodded, ignoring him, "Pepper, right?"

"Yup."

"Nice. Good for you."

"Thanks. Can you put me down now?"

Arthur gave him a shit-eating grin, "Mera would kill me if you got hurt again- this time because of your own stupidity."

"I mean, I did just go through a portal in space," Tony pointed out.

"Was that what that was?" Arthur raised an eyebrow, "I was never good at science in school."

Tony laughed, "They teach science under the sea?"

Arthur guffawed, "I went to school on land. I thought Mera said you were smart?"

"I am. Very much so."

Arthur nodded, coming to a stop at the main road of the city. All around him were damages- buildings half crumbled, street signs and lamp post smash and upturned. Tables from restaurants flew across the blacktop and more than one car was smashed in on itself courtesy of the Hulk. Scorch marks were evident along the yellow and white lines on the street and one taxi was on fire.

Tony found himself on his feet, Arthur patting his back with the force of a tank, almost sending him toppling as the man said, "Well, if you're as smart as you claim to be, you'll keep my girl from worrying so much."

"Yeah," Tony nodded, "Got it."

And then, because the universe seemed to hate him so much, the team just had to show up. Steve was the first to arrive, checking Tony over for any external injuries and then standing almost protectively against Arthur, his eyes full of distrust. Natasha and Clint were most likely in the shadows and sure enough, Tony could see them crawling through the wreckage, weapons at the ready. Thor was probably around somewhere- if he remembered correctly, he was flying his deranged brother back to Asgard and he could see a very obviously naked Bruce hiding behind some rubble a few feet away.

"Your comm went out when you fell from the wormhole," Natasha explained, "You alright?"

Tony nodded, jabbing his thumb at Arthur, "Yeah, good ol' Willy helped out-"

Arthur scrunched up his nose, leveling a pointed look at Tony, "Did you just compare me to an orca?"

"I thought Willy was a shark."

"He's an orca," Arthur deadpanned, ignoring the looks of curiosity on the Avenger's faces.

Tony grinned, "How would you know? Do you talk to fish?"

Arthur crossed his arms, "Yes. Do you always fall from the sky in metal suits and pollute my waters with your shit?"

Tony deflated, hearing Hawkeye try and fail to hide a laugh as he said, "Point taken. Is Mera around?"

"Right here, Tony," Mera's voice sounded and Tony grinned as the woman latched onto him from behind, her slim arms surprisingly strong around his neck. Tony knew the others were looking on in confusion, and Bruce was still sitting in his hiding spot (someone really had to bring the poor man some clothes, this was inhumane at this rate), and Mera's hair felt just as soft against his cheek as it had all those months ago in the desert. Turning around, Tony looked her up and down- she looked good, in a form-fitting jumpsuit that seemed to glow, green and blue scales iridescent in the sun as she moved. Golden bracers adorned her forearms and shins, tough looking and strong.

"It's nice to see you alive," Mera teased, "i hope Arthur didn't ruin your armor too much."

"Yeah- do you Atlanteans and Xebelians have a thing for just ripping through stuff with your bare hands? If I make another suit, Pepper will have my head," Tony chided jokingly.

Before Mera or Arthur could answer, Steve coughed awkwardly and the three turned, looking at the Avengers as if they ahd just showed up. Clearing his throat, Tony gestured to the two of them, nodding slightly, "So, do you guys remember when I was in the desert?"

"You said you were there for a few weeks, months at most," Steve said.

"Well, Mera was with me- she saved my life," Tony was proud, beaming as Arthur looped an arm around the woman's shoulders. The smile was wide, all teeth but the light was there. Arthur looked at Mera as if she was his world, and in a way, she was. And for Tony she saved that world.

Steve was the first to approach, his eyes solomn as he took her hand and shook it, "We wouldn't be the Avengers without him. Thank you."

Mera smiled sadly, "He was alone. So was I- I only did what anyone else would do."

Of course Mera would say that. The woman who came from the ocean, not even knowing who Tony was and using her magic to keep him alive- of fucking course she would say that. And now she stood beside a king, smiling and happy and safe. It made him wonder why more people couldn't be like her; good and kind while still standing by who they were. At the time, she had a mission and even if Tony got in her way, she knew the right thing to do.

There were not enough people as good in this world.

"Hey," Arthur's voice cut through his thoughts, "Is that another one of you 'Avengers' hiding behind that taxi?"

Right. Bruce. For a while he forgot the others were even here. Thankfully, Hawkeye was already on it, leaving the others to marvel at Mera and Arthur. While Steve had voiced his thanks, Tony could tell Natasha was wary, eyeing the two with practiced disdain; her hand was at the ready on her weapon, trigger finger twitching.

"Well, you guys seem to have made a pretty big mess," Arthur joked to break the tension, Mera jabbing him sharply with her elbow.

"Well, listen, Mera, Arthur," Tony said, "if you ever find yourselves in our neck of the woods, feel free to stop by."

"As long as you stop throwing trash in my ocean," Arthur warned playfully.

With that, he turned, eyeing the damage surrounding him as he made his way towards the harbor. Tony wasn't entirely sure, but he was fairly certain he saw water trailing behind him, leaving rainbows in the light. His suit definitely was as shiny as Mera's, with a beautiful orange breastplate to compliment Mera's green armor. The Avengers had decided to busy themselves with damage control, leaving Tony standing alone with Mera, in the middle of the street.

As far as he knew, this was her second time on the surface world. The first was dusty and desperate and rough. Now it was stuffed to the brim with aliens and other worlds, destruction and despair and every little thing deemed awful. As far as he knew, that war between the ocean and the surface was still going on- two brothers Tony doesn't know duking it out for some throne he didn't know was actually real until a few months ago.

But Mera decided to take time out of whatever war she was battling to help him. The same woman who kept him alive through the desert, the same woman who fed him his own sweat and her own blood was sitting here, in the middle of New York City after an alien invasion and who knew what else.

"How's the ocean treating you?" Tony asked.

Mera shrugged, "King Orm had begun his advances, but with Arthur in his rightful place, I think we can win."

Tony nodded, "And how are you doing? Not getting lost in any deserts again?"

Mera chuckled, a hearty sound to match Arthur's deep bellow, "I didn't exactly plan on jumping out of the plane with no parachute, you know."

"Not even gonna ask," Tony laughed, "but I'm happy you're happy."

Mera smiled, a megawatt grin that was all sparkling teeth and sharp tongue. Tony thought it suited her well.

"I'm happy you're safe," she said.

Safe. It was a relative term. Was being Iron Man even remotely safe? No, but Tony found he enjoyed it, even if he just had to get dragged out of the ocean by her boyfriend. As long as she was there, though, Tony knew he was in good hands.

Mera's eyes glowed blue, and Tony could feel the pull of her magic, perspiration in the air dangling with the raise of her palm. With a flick of her wrist, it came thundering down, a shower that would pair with Thor's lightning quite nicely. AS he marveled at the rain, he noticed her slip into the shadows, and then she was gone, leaving the Avengers to clean up in a storm and wash away all their misdeeds.

No one asked questions when Tony finally joined in the efforts alone.

The rain had a blue glow to it, just like Mera's eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> This kind of got away from me, but I loved writing it, I hope you enjoyed


End file.
